The Hindu : New Delhi News : ‘Farmers facing drought-like situation in Delhi’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 10, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

‘Farmers facing drought-like situation in Delhi’

Special Correspondent

BJP MLA calls for relief, compensation in such areas

‘Recovery of interest be stopped forthwith, loan instalments be postponed by a year’
Water production at two treatment plants in the Capital scaled down by 20 to 25 per cent

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Palam Dharam Deo Solanki has in a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar demanded that the rural areas of Delhi be declared “drought-affected” and that provision be made for providing relief and compensation to the farmers in these areas.

Expressing concern over “slow pace” at which the Delhi Government had been carrying out a survey of the drought-hit areas, Mr. Solanki said in the 193 villages of Delhi about 180,310 acres is used for cultivation.

“With this land having been affected by drought, farmers have been left helpless. All the 193 villages should be declared drought-hit areas so that relief could be provided to the farmers.”

He has also demanded that recovery of interest from farmers be stopped forthwith and loan instalments also be postponed by at least a year.

Stating that the loss of crops should be worked out at Rs.10,000 per acre and payment made accordingly, the legislator also asked for free fodder for animals being reared by Delhi farmers.

Yamuna falls further

Staff Reporter adds:

A further fall in the level of water in the Wazirabad pond has set alarm bells ringing in the Capital. The Delhi Jal Board has shot off a request to Haryana to release more water for the city to ward off a water crisis.

The delay in the arrival of the monsoon in Delhi as well as in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has caused the Yamuna level to dip at an alarming rate. The level, which fell from the required 674.5 feet to 673.3 feet at Wazirabad on Tuesday, has now dipped to 673.1 feet.

According to Jal Board officials, the inflow into the Wazirabad pond is less than the requirement of raw water for the 120 MGD Wazirabad and the 90 MGD Chandrawal water treatment plants. The production of water at these plants that together supply water to large parts of the city has been scaled down. Water production at these two plants has been affected by 20 to 25 per cent.

To tackle the reduction in water supply, the Jal Board will have to regulate supplies through underground reservoirs in the command of these two plants. The areas that will be affected by the cut in production include NDMC area, Chandni Chowk, Mukherjee Nagar, Dhaula Kuan, Moti Bagh, R.K. Puram, Kishen Ganj, Delhi Cantonment, Paharganj and Karol Bagh. Some areas in South Delhi that are under the command of the Palam reservoir will also be affected.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi